Polestar is an electric performance brand and a division of Volvo. Today, Polestar revealed the Polestar 2 which is priced to compete with the Tesla Model 3 as the base model is expected to start at $45,000. Polestar 2 is a premium five-door fastback with two electric motors creating 408 hp and a 78 kWh battery capacity that will enable a targeted range of 275 miles. The car uses 324 pouch cells to create the battery. Similarly to how the Tesla Model 3 is built, the Polestar 2 will feature a 27-module battery pack integrated into the floor that contributes to the rigidity of the chassis as well as improves the car’s noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) levels. Polestar didn’t say much about the charging network other than “Polestar is setting up strategic collaborations to give Polestar 2 owners easy and hassle-free access to the world’s largest public charging networks.” The car will feature a subscription service which charges a monthly fee for car ownership and allows for an option to return or upgrade the vehicle at the end of the term. Preorders are now open for the more expensive model that starts at $63,000.



“Polestar 2 is our first fully electric car and first volume model. Everything about it has been designed and engineered with passion and dedication. As an electric performance brand, and through the forthcoming launch of a portfolio of fully electric cars, Polestar is determined to address the world’s air quality challenges. Polestar delivers electric performance cars that are great to own and drive,” says Thomas Ingenlath, Chief Executive Officer of Polestar.

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Source: [H]ardOCP – Volvo Reveals the New Polestar 2 Electric Performance Vehicle

Microsoft recently acquired the long-running RPG developers Obsidian and inXile, and, given Microsoft’s track record with acquisitions and PC titles in general, many fans were justifiably worried about what that means for either studio. But, in a recent interview with PC Gamer, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer not only seemed cognizant of these concerns, but did his best to quell them. He said that it’s “up to the studios to decide what platforms to make games for,” and that he doesn’t expect either developer to shift their focus away from PCs. Overall, it looks like both developers have plenty of leeway to make whatever they want, which mirriors what both studios have been loudly telling the public ever since they were acquired by Microsoft. Additionally, PC Gamer asked if gamers can expect Xbox games to show up on Windows, or if Microsoft Store games will ever show up on Steam. He said “It’s a good question and something we’ve spent a lot of time thinking through. I expect us to share more details on our plans here soon.” As they often have in the past, Microsoft repeatedly promised to do right by PC gamers this time around, but only time will tell if they follow up on that promise.



“While we are proud of our PC gaming heritage, we’ve made some mistakes along our journey. We know we have to move forward, informed by our past, with the unique wants, needs and challenges of the PC player at the center of decisions we make. I know we’ve talked quite a bit over time about what we want to deliver for the player on PC, but at E3 this year, and throughout 2019, you’ll begin to see where we’ve been investing to deliver across Store, services, in Windows and in great games. It’s just the beginning.”

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Source: [H]ardOCP – Phil Spencer Comments on Developer Acquisitions and PC Gaming Plans

Yesterday, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced what it says is “its first case challenging a marketer’s use of fake paid reviews on an independent retail website.” The FTC claims that Cure Encapsulations, Inc. paid third party reviewers to write and post fake reviews on Amazon, and that they also made “false and unsubstantiated claims” about the weight loss supplement they were trying to sell. In addition to forcing the Amazon merchant to provide “competent and reliable scientific evidence” to back up the claims about the company’s current and future products, the proposed FTC court order “imposes a judgment of $12.8 million, which will be suspended upon payment of $50,000 to the Commission and the payment of certain unpaid income tax obligations. If the defendants are later found to have misrepresented their financial condition to the FTC, the full amount of the judgment will immediately become due.” Thanks to KitGuru for the tip.



“People rely on reviews when they’re shopping online,” said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “When a company buys fake reviews to inflate its Amazon ratings, it hurts both shoppers and companies that play by the rules…” The FTC alleges that the defendants paid a website, amazonverifiedreviews(dot)com, to create and post Amazon reviews of their product. The FTC contends that Jacobowitz told the website’s operator that his product needed to have an average rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars in order to have sales and to, “Please make my product … stay a five star.” As described in the FTC’s complaint, the reviews the defendants bought were posted on Amazon.com and gave the product a five-star rating. The complaint charges the defendants with representing that the purchased Amazon reviews were truthful reviews written by actual purchasers, when in reality they were fabricated.

Discussion

Source: [H]ardOCP – FTC Fines Amazon Merchant .8 Million for Fake Advertising and Paid Reviews